Articles

.) You will click on the link below. Hightlight all the article text and paste it to your article page.

http://www.4to40.com/science/index.asp?p=Why_do_Leaves_Change_Color
2.) Read the text completely through once to gain an overall understanding of the article.
3.) The second time you read, you will investigated a little closer. As you read the article through this time you will need to complete the following:

• Find unfamiliar content words and turn them green.
• Sentences that hold the main idea of important facts turn them orange.
• After each paragraph, write a summary of what the paragraph was mostly about.
• Answer the following questions:

How do we know that Carotenoids are more stable compounds than chlorophyll?
Carotenes and xanthophyll pigments that give the orange color to a carrot. Most of the year these colors are masked by great amounts of green coloring. Chlorophyl breaks down and green pigment is lost due to decrease in daylight and temperature.. Orange and yellow is left behind and not affected by temperature and light.
How does nature signal it's time for leaves to change color?
In the fall, because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, the leaves stop making food. The chlorophyll breaks down, and the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange colors become visible and give the leaves part of their fall splendor. Nice answer!
How would you explain the reason the leaves changing colors and falling off so late this year?
The leaves chnaged colors and fell so late this year because the tempersture wasn't getting cold enough. ok

Why do Leaves Change Color

Every leaf of the tree is a tiny factory that works day in and day out to produce food, that is, energy. The leaf colors are due to the presence of 3 very important pigments present in the plant cell structure and parts...

**New Delhi**

The Splendor of Autumn
Every autumn we revel in the beauty of the fall colors. The mixture of red, purple, orange and yellow is the result of chemical processes that take place in the tree as the seasons change from summer to winter.During the spring and summer the leaves have served as factories where most of the foods necessary for the tree's growth are manufactured. This food-making process takes place in the leaf in numerous cells containing chlorophyll, which gives the leaf its green color. This extraordinary chemical absorbs from sunlight the energy that is used in transforming carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates, such as sugars and starch.Along with the green pigment are yellow to orange pigments, carotenes and xanthophyll pigments which, for example, give the orange color to a carrot. Most of the year these colors are masked by great amounts of green coloring. Chlorophyll gives the leaf its green color, it absorbs from the suns energy.
Chlorophyll Breaks Down
But in the fall, because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, the leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange colors become visible and give the leaves part of their fall splendor.At the same time other chemical changes may occur, which form additional colors through the development of red anthocyanin pigments. Some mixtures give rise to the reddish and purplish fall colors of trees such as dogwoods and sumacs, while others give the sugar maple its brilliant orange.The autumn foliage of some trees show only yellow colors. Others, like many oaks, display mostly browns. All these colors are due to the mixing of varying amounts of the chlorophyll residue and other pigments in the leaf during the fall season. Leaves stop their food-making process in the fall. When the chlorophyll breaks down,the green color disappears. Pigments make it turn yellow and red.
Other Changes Take Place
As the fall colors appear, other changes are taking place. At the point where the stem of the leaf is attached to the tree, a special layer of cells develops and gradually severs the tissues that support the leaf. At the same time, the tree seals the cut, so that when the leaf is finally blown off by the wind or falls from its own weight, it leaves behind a leaf scar.Most of the broad-leaved trees in the North shed their leaves in the fall. However, the dead brown leaves of the oaks and a few other species may stay on the tree until growth starts again in the spring. In the South, where the winters are mild, some of the broad-leaved trees are evergreen; that is, the leaves stay on the trees during winter and keep their green color. Leaves shed in the winter because the wind knocks it off.
Only Some Trees Lose Leaves
Most of the conifers - pines, spruces, firs, hemlocks, cedars, etc. - are evergreen in both the North and South. The needle- or scale-like leaves remain green or greenish the year round, and individual leaves may stay on for two to four or more years.The needle's stay on the tree for like 3 years.
Weather Affects Color Intensity
Temperature, light, and water supply have an influence on the degree and the duration of fall color. Low temperatures above freezing will favor anthocyanin formation producing bright reds in maples. However, early frost will weaken the brilliant red color. Rainy and/or overcast days tend to increase the intensity of fall colors. The best time to enjoy the autumn color would be on a clear, dry, and cool (not freezing) day.Enjoy the color, it only occurs for a brief period each fall.
Low temperatures above freezing will favor anthocyanin formation producing bright reds in maples.

Student: Assignment: Why Do leaves Change Color? Period:

Possible points	1	2	3	Max Points = 3
Questions	Answered	Answered completely with errors	Answered with complete sentences accurately	3
Summary	Described	Described with errors	Described accurately with errrors	3
Vocabulary	1 term	2 terms	3+ terms	1
Total Points				8/9

Teachers Note:

• Nice job. Continue to improve. Summaries could be more accurate.